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Taxes for High Rollers

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by alexb7, Feb 25, 2015.

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  1. alexb7

    alexb7 MIA

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    Just wondering if any of the high rollers on the board have had any crazy taxes to pay they weren't expecting other than non-resident slot wins.
     
  2. broncofn

    broncofn VIP Whale

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    I only play blackjack and baccarat. Its basically an even money game and there are no taxes needed to be paid since i think you only need to pay taxes on a 150/1 payout but might be a little wrong on that number.

    Ive never myself paid taxes on winnings besides getting lucky on a few slots and now have a w2g to pay taxes on next year from a black jack tourney.
     
  3. thefish2010

    thefish2010 Low-Roller

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    I only play table games, and sometimes the Dragon Baccarat machines at the Palazzo. Just make sure that you don't play ETG's if you plan to bet $600 or more. You're OK at Dragon Baccarat because a live dealer is involved even though you play the game through a machine. However, I played some Baccarat on an ETG at MGM and wound up with a W2G for winning a $640 bet, even though it was only a 1:1 bet. I had "won" a $1280 payout on my $640 bet (my original bet back, plus $640), and therefore qualified for a W2G and a handpay, during which the machine was locked up. 20 minutes later, when they came to pay me, they said they had all kinds of complaints about these machines because you can also play roulette on the same machines, and it's relatively easy to get a $1200 payout on roulette if you hit a number straight up. For example, if you put $50 on every number but 2 of them, you would have a W2G for $1750 virtually every spin of the wheel, even though your profit would only be $50 each time you won.

    So, stay away from ETG's, and you won't have problems with taxes.
     
  4. pleepleus

    pleepleus 2016 - The monkey is back

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    The IRS tried to say I owed them an extra $80K because I forgot to report some of my W2G slot winnings. Upon further review, they were wrong and owed me $1400. It made me smile that the little guy can win against the beast once in a while.
     
  5. ruralhipster

    ruralhipster High-Roller

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    I find it hilarious that a High Roller can go on a tear at a baccarat or blackjack table win tens of millions and no tax is withheld or reported. a Low roller wins a long shot at the horses for 600 bucks or $1200 on a penny slot, lottery or at bingo and the government wants to be informed and in some cases paid a percent in advance.
     
  6. meyers67

    meyers67 VIP Whale

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    Actually, it makes perfect sense to me. It's more likely that someone who hit a longshot has overall winning for the year. Someone who had one good session at a game like BJ/Bac would most likely have other sessions giving the money back. But someone who hit a longshot probably is up for the year.
     
  7. ruralhipster

    ruralhipster High-Roller

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    Really? You believe the average person who wins $1200 betting 3 to 5 dollars a spin at a 90% payback game is more likely to be up on the year than some who bets huge and aggressively presses his wins on a 99.5% payback game? Say someone hits cherry, blank, blank on a 500 dollar slot wins 1500 bucks would they most likely be up on the year?

    If the trigger point for a W2G was $20k I would agree with you that a large percent that hit that kind of a longshot are up for the year but if you believe that the majority of slot players that hit a jackpot for a little more than a grand are ahead for the year then I believe you are very much mistaken.

    My point is the tax rules are antiquated. Table players at the highest levels benefit. Slot players lose out.

    The only issue for high rollers I can see is that if the IRS gets hold of all the new anti-money laundering information that casinos are collecting table playing whales might be forced to declare their winnings more judiciously in future.
     
  8. Tellafriend

    Tellafriend MIA

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    All of the above is completely wrong.

    Table players do owe taxes on all of their winnings. The only difference is that they are not given w2gs. But this Country's tax reporting system is generally a self-reporting one and failing to do so is at your own peril.

    Now, of course it is absurd, but make no mistake, table wins are required to be reported. Just get yourself audited and have the IRS agent look through your personal bank deposits and notice a bunch of cash going in, you will have a lot of explaining to do when you then say its from gambling wins that you have failed to report.

    The more idiotic part of how gambling wins/losses are handled is how gambling wins are added onto your adjusted gross income before deductions for losses are allowed. A good example is that if you get divorced in many states and are arguing about money for child support/alimony, the Court will look at your AGI which will include these wins as income, even if for the year you lost money gambling and can prove it. Absurd result.

    There is a detailed thread on all of this elsewhere on the board.
     
  9. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Yes, all wins and losses are to be reported on your tax return.
    and
    Yes, only W2-G's are sent to the IRS.
    and
    Yes, table player wins (with some rare exceptions) are not reported to IRS like every slot win over $1200
    and
    Yes, many states will tax money on a W-2G but not thousands of dollars of wins at a BJ table
    and
    Yes, a player could be down $2,000 on a particular machine in a single session, win $1,200 and still have to report the $1,200 win even though they were still down $800.

    As to what is actually reported by individuals on their tax returns and what is required are not always the same thing.
     
  10. stackinchips

    stackinchips VIP Whale

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    Yes the biggest issue with W-2Gs is simply that the threshold for triggering hasn't changed since the law was implemented back in the 70s (60s?). Back then $1200 would almost buy you a new car. These days I've had dinners in Vegas for four people that topped that amount.

    Good luck getting the government to change the limit any time soon though.
     
  11. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    A high roller almost certainly would itemize their taxes, which means w2g's are not a big deal since you offset your wins with losses. A pain in the ass yes, a big deal no.
     
  12. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    It is not that simple. The wins go on the first page, losses are later and it triggers some other issues. The whole thing sucks. We all know nobody wins - LOL!
     
  13. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    My tax person itemized 9k in slot winnings from last year. Unfortunately I'm way down last year
     
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